Dragon Heartstring
by akimmy
Summary: Draco Malfoy has a mission and he's not sure if it'll be worth losing the one he loves.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note**: The first-two italicized paragraphs are directly from _The Half-Blood Prince_.

I also don't own Harry Potter.

Anna and Aleksandra helped me a lot with this, I love you both! Thank you!

**Prologue**

_"Don't," crooned Moaning Myrtle's voice from one of the cubicles. "Don't... tell me what's wrong... I can help you..."_

_"No one can help me," said Malfoy. His whole body was shaking. "I can't do it... I can't... It won't work... and unless I do it soon... he says he'll kill me..."_

"How about Professor Dumbledore, Draco? Surely he can help you," she pleaded.

"Didn't you hear a word I said? No one can help me," he let out a bitter laugh. "Especially Dumbledore, cause I have to kill _him_. I have to kill-" Hearing distant footsteps, Draco looked up from the sink and saw Harry's reflection in the cracked mirror. "Potter."

Harry was dumbstruck. In the six years that Harry had known the other boy, he has never seen the blonde cry. But after all, Draco Malfoy was a Slytherin. It wasn't really a surprise that Harry has never seen him cry; Malfoy always kept a mask of indifference with everyone.

"Going to speak anytime soon?"

It took a minute to register into Harry's mind that Draco had spoken. After he found his voice, Harry let go of a quiet but firm, "Malfoy," in reply.

"Still stalking me, are you? I would've thought that Dumbledore's Golden Boy had better stuff to do," Malfoy jeered. "Saving the world, maybe? Or posing for the front page of The Daily Prophet," His face was blotched in red and had a slight sheen of sweat, tears, and water, and his usual silver blue eyes were now a cold hard titanium, with a dark shadow looming over them.

"Malfoy..."

"I don't want your pity, Potter!" The shout reverberated in the small bathroom. Malfoy raised his wand, which was in danger of falling onto the floor due to the intense shaking of the hand holding it, and shouted a jinx at the dark-haired boy.

"Reducto!"

"STOP IT! ST-" Moaning Myrtle was screaming bloody murder as she flew out of the bathroom as her cries were ignored by the two boys."HELP!_ HELP!_"

Harry quickly jumped to his right and landed on his stomach, narrowly avoiding the curse. A light spray of water notified Harry that Draco's jinx hit a sink instead, blowing the water pipe. Malfoy threw another curse to which Harry quickly rolled away from and the poorly aimed curse resulted in a heavier flow of water spilling from the damaged sink.

Although Harry knew that Malfoy was going to fire a new curse in his direction, he didn't make any motion to take out his own wand. And as expected, a sharp pain in his side told him that Malfoy's new curse didn't miss its intended target.

There was a dull thud of Harry's knees and hands hitting the tiles as the effort to breathe was becoming more labored. His field of vision was tinged pink and was slowly narrowing to a focal point.

Harry attempted to get the room to stop spinning but he couldn't. Then, he pushed up onto his feet with great difficulty with the small bathroom threatening to collapse on top of him as he staggered toward the shaking blonde. Struggling to hold his head up, he directed his green eyes to look into the gray ones. Malfoy's eyes were shining with unshed tears and flashed hurt and concern when his eyes connected with the other boy's.

_"Draco..."_

With the last of his strength, Harry staggered the last couple feet into Draco's arms. Suddenly, warmth covered his own cold lips. Then, a single tear slipped out of his eyes, slid down his cheeks, and mingled with the joined lips below. And right before he was engulfed in the lonely darkness, Harry's last memory was of Draco's voice whispering,_ "I'm sorry..."_ into his ear over and over again.


	2. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I'm going to be switching from Harry's POV and then to Draco's throughout this story so you guys can get both sides of the story. Also, I tweaked Dumbledore's beginning of the year speech a little and the italicized parts are taken directly from the movie. Once again, I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 1.

Malfoy: Fall from Grace

Article by: Aliby Byrthon

Everyone has heard of the great things the Boy Who Lived has accomplished in his lifetime of fifteen years. Apart from banishing He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named when he was a mere baby, Harry Potter has recently exploited one of most influential families in our world to be a danger to society. The Malfoy's, whose pureblood status dates back centuries and whose name has held power and wealth has been tainted. During the battle of the Light against the Dark in the Department of Mysteries recently, it has been shown that Lucius Malfoy is a Death Eater, a follower to the Dark Lord. Lucius Malfoy and his family have seemed elegant, poised, but cold in public. They were well-known for having many influential acquaintances. It seems almost unbelievable that someone with an evil brand on his arm has held most of the wizarding world's power and money. All in all, it comes to show that no one is as they seem and there are many sides to the same story.

"Mate! Get a move on! I'm starved!" a voice shouted from outside the compartment.

Harry Potter was currently on the floor reaching for his Marauder's Map that had fallen underneath the seats. Reaching as far as his arm would go, he finally snatched the parchment, got up, and walked out to meet his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

In the midst of dusting off his robes, however, he ran into a solid wall.

"Watch where you're going!"

A tall talking wall; who had platinum blonde hair which was slicked back to perfection, with not a single hair out of line. The wall also possessed silver blue eyes that glinted with menace matched with lips pulled back in its signature sneer. The wall had a name: Draco Malfoy.

"Oh look! If it isn't our little Golden Boy."

"Sod off, Malfoy," Harry said, reaching back for his wand, just in case.

"Or what? Going to run and tell on me to your mummy and daddy? Oh wait..." Malfoy let out a small laugh.

"Expelliarmus!"

Without warning, Harry's wand flew out of his hand and into Malfoy's.

"Give it back, Malfoy!" Harry growled.

"Ooh, ferocious, isn't he? Boys, hold him back," Malfoy commanded. Then, Harry felt beefy hands surround his upper arms in an iron grip.

Malfoy stalked up in front of him and gave a swift punch to Harry's gut. Then another.

Harry felt his earlier pumpkin pasties coming up his throat.

Malfoy didn't stop for at least five minutes, or in Harry's case, five centuries. Each blow seemed to last longer than the previous. Then, Harry felt himself being dropped suddenly and his face connected with the hard floor of the train.

Malfoy then spit on Harry's face. "That's for my family, Potter. Something you'll never experience."

Then, Malfoy glared at Harry while he fixed his robes that dislodged from his shoulders. As he was pulling the robe back up, his left sleeve drooped down slowly to his elbows. Before Malfoy could quickly snatch up his sleeve, Harry stole a quick glance to the other boy's arm. There, on his forearm, Harry could have sworn he saw a dark bruise-like mark.

"Nice wand, Potter."

With that, Draco stalked off the platform throwing Harry's wand on the grassy land.

"What the hell happened to you, mate?" Ron said as Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville and Luna made their way up to the castle.

"Malfoy happened." Harry muttered. He was sweaty, somewhat bloody, and muddy from locating his wand in the grass.

"That slimy git. He deserves what happened to his family recently," Ron fumed, turning red with anger. His face almost matched the color of his hair.

Hermione just gave an exasperated sigh before she turned to look at Harry. He knew that look. She wanted to know what Harry was hiding. It was sometimes scary how well Hermione could read Harry's facial expressions. He then reminded himself to never play poker with Hermione. Ever.

But to answer Hermione's facial expression, he glanced to Neville and Luna who were talking animately about an herb, and mouthed, "Later." To which Hermione narrowed her eyes, nodded, and went back to talking to Ron about his OWL results. It wasn't that Harry didn't trust Neville and Luna, it just felt like it was something personal that Harry could only tell his best friends.

Looking around the carriage, he was surrounded by his friends, people who loved him. However, deep down, Harry knew that what Draco said on the train was all true. He would never know what it'd be like to have his parents with him, caring for him. He also damn well knew that he might not even experience a family of his own if this war kept going on. In that minute, Harry never felt more alone.

"Welcome students and staff to another year at Hogwarts!" Dumbledore's soft voice rang throughout the Great Hall. "Before we retire to our cozy beds, let me tell you a story...

Long ago, I knew a boy. Who made all the wrong choices. He has sat in this very same hall, walked the very same hallways, learned in the very same classrooms, and lived in this very same castle much like yourselves. He was an exceedingly bright student with goals, hopes, and dreams. However, his goals were driven by a hunger that he couldn't have filled whilst his years in this school. What he sought for was power. And he did gain it, in the end. Yes, ... he achieved vast amounts of power but for a horrible price. You all know him. Every one of you sitting here tonight. His name... Thomas Marvolo Riddle. But he had fancied himself another name. One that all of you have learnt to fear. Voldemort."

The whole hall grew silent. No one seemed to be breathing. Even though Professor Dumbledore usually told some quirky stories at the beginning of the year feasts, it was never like this. The majority of the students have never heard the headmaster say Voldemort's name so bluntly. Even Ron, who was slurping his jell-o loudly looked up at the old professor with a dumbstruck face. Only Luna was the one who kept enjoying her pudding, since Luna is ... well, Luna.

"Just remember that night will always be upon us, it is prudent to remember that day is always around the corner," Dumbledore's twinkling gaze swept the silent hall but seemed to linger longer on the Slytherin table.

"Well, let's retire, shall we?" Professor Dumbledore said in a happy way that was contrary to the mood that had settled over the tables.

"Gee, that certainly cheered me up..." whispered Ron sarcastically.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione joined the crowd that were filing out of the Great Hall, each student murmuring to their peers about Dumbledore's unusual speech.

"Oh hush, Ronald. Don't you see? Everyone's worried. There's been way too many disappearances lately with no longer logical explanations. Even The Daily Prophet is making up more bogus stories than it has before to cover up the Death Eater's tracks!" Hermione spat venomously. "I mean honestly, a herbologist planting Devil's Snare in his own bedroom?"

Then, Hermione steered the boys away from the big crowd, deciding to take the long way up to their common room.

"What's that for?" asked Harry, almost tripping over the unexpected pull that Hermione had dragged the boys with.

Hermione put her hands on her hips and let out an undignified huff of air. "You still need to tell us why you were late getting off the train."

"Oh... Right... You see, my marauder's map fell under the seat so I was trying to get that..."

Hermione and Ron both leered at him.

"Oh okay, fine!" Harry took a quick glance around to make sure that they were alone, pulled Hermione and Ron closer to him and whispered to them on what happened with Malfoy on the train. Then, he quietly added, "I also think Draco Malfoy is a Death Eater,"

"WHAT?" Ron exclaimed. His shout echoed down the empty hall.

"Shhh!"

"Sorry."

"Harry, what makes you say that? Malfoy's only sixteen! What does You-Know-Who want with a sixth-year student?" Hermione whispered.

"Maybe he wants to learn how to transfigure himself a nose," Ron snickered.

Harry let out a quiet laugh too, before they were both silenced by Hermione's cutting glare.

Before she could open her mouth to retort, Harry cut her off with a, "I've seen his dark mark, okay?"

"Excuse me?" Ron and Hermione both let out.

"Well, I didn't exactly see it, but there was a bruise-like mark on his forearm! I didn't have long to look since his sleeve barely went down below his wrist. And it's not really hard to guess what happened after seeing what happened to his father a couple months ago."

"What are you talking about, mate? You're rambling," Ron muttered.

Harry looked around once more but to find a bench. It felt like it was going to be a long story. Then, having found one, he sat down and waited for his friends to join him.

When they did, Harry continued on with his story.

"Okay, so Lucius Malfoy was convicted of being a death eater. Then, what better way to punish his family by sending their own son to become a death eater? It's something that Voldemort would do. It's twisted and sickening. Having to watch their only heir become loyal to a git like him? It's definitely something he would do."

"That is true, Harry, but what can he possibly do? He's only a little bit older than you, and a couple months younger than me. He's still a kid," Hermione whispered.

"I don't know..." Harry admitted. "But I will find out."

"By doing what? Pouring veritaserum down his throat during breakfast? Better yet, how about we just go up and ask him politely to roll his left sleeve up for us," Ron remarked. "Yeah, he'll definitely show us, then!" To emphasize his point, Ron rolled his eyes.

"He's a death eater. I know it," Harry stated firmly before starting to climb up a pair of stairs. "Come on, let's go back."

Perhaps if they were more aware, they would've seen a certain blonde Slytherin walking down the very same hallway, rubbing the inside of his forearm.


End file.
